Tell your Texas Rep to support KEN PAXTON FOR SPEAKER!!!!
Got THIS in my email ~ 45 minutes ago!:
- - - - -
For Immediate Release - November 11, 2010
Contact: Ken Paxton – (469) 742-0100
State Rep. Ken Paxton Announces Bid for Texas House Speaker
“Historic Opportunities Demand Bold Action”
(McKinney, TX) – In announcing his bid for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, State Rep. Ken Paxton today issued the following statement:
“Today, on Veterans Day, we honor the service of those who have given so much to our state and nation, many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. It seems appropriate that we focus on how we can best protect our hard-won freedoms which are increasingly under attack.
On Election Day, we witnessed a monumental shift in the political climate, and I believe that historic opportunities demand bold action in defense of our conservative values. Voters across Texas sent a clear message that they favor leadership dedicated to protecting our freedoms and fighting government growth. Texans have provided us with an historic mandate, and they expect us to use this mandate to honestly advance conservative principles and not simply protect the status quo. These goals can only be accomplished with a conservative Speaker.
In January, members of the Texas State Legislature have a unique opportunity and an obligation to do more than simply balance the budget without raising taxes. We also have an opportunity to:
· Implement measures to reduce property taxes permanently over time;
· Aggressively fight back on the federal government’s invasion on the rights of Texans, and in fact reclaim our state sovereignty;
· Limit our state government’s ability to grow beyond the rate of inflation and population;
· Pass true immigration reform and implement photo id;
· Provide opportunities for individuals and families to make important decisions such as health care options that are free from governmental intrusion and mandates; and
· Challenge ourselves to bring solutions to the table that create jobs, sustain economic prosperity, and continue to make Texas a shining light for generations to come.
Republicans have the opportunity to unify behind a conservative Speaker who can effectively lead our Party on the principles our citizens espouse. As someone who has continuously served as an advocate for conservative principles, I am announcing my candidacy for the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
Texans have clearly asked us to advance their values, promote conservative policies and follow a path of long-term economic prosperity, and I stand ready to serve as the leader to accomplish these goals. I welcome the opportunity to work with my colleagues in the Legislature to address the critical issues we face and implement real solutions that will benefit all Texans.”
#####
5613 S. Woodcreek Circle « McKinney, Texas 75070 « 469.742.0100
IF as you say Joe Straus is “our friend” why did he have to resort to a “deal with the devil” to get himself elected speaker last secession?
I hope you will forgive me but my firm opinion is that there are FAR better choices for speaker in the current environment!
“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” —Voltaire
From: Conservatives for Speaker Straus [mailto:conservativesforstraus@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 1:43 PM
To: conservativesforjoe@gmail.com
Subject: Setting the record straight
Dear Fellow Conservative,
In recent days we have read with dismay critical comments of the Republican leadership of the Texas House – in particular Speaker Joe Straus – finding those criticisms to be based on half-truths, hearsay and, in some cases, outright fabrications. These criticisms concern us not just because they unfairly reflect on the leadership of the House, but on all Republicans who compose the majority, and will be running on our record from last session.
As fellow movement conservatives, we have the same desire as many of you: to advance the conservative agenda in Austin, and our shared values. We believe in the sanctity of life, the power of private individuals to create opportunity rather than government, personal responsibility rather than increased dependency, and constitutional limits to the size and scope of government. We are here to tell you, in all these matters, we have an ally in Speaker Joe Straus.
Let’s set aside recent rhetoric, and just look at the record. In his first term as Speaker the Texas House – with just a two-vote majority – we achieved the following:
* Passed a balanced budget with a $1.6 billion reduction in general revenue spending – just the 2nd time we have reduced spending from general revenue since World War II.
* Enacted tax cuts for 40,000 small businesses previously subject to the business margins tax.
* Set aside $9.1 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, ensuring we could address future budgetary challenges without raising taxes.
Since the session ended, Speaker Straus has joined Governor Perry and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst in mandating immediate five percent spending cuts at all but a few state agencies. And Speaker Straus has directed members of key committees to look at all ways to find savings and cuts in state spending, taking tax hikes off the table as an option in the next session.
What more could we ask of the leader of the House than that kind of strong, principle-based fiscal conservatism? We have in Joe Straus a strong, principled fiscal conservative. That's why, last session, our fellow Republican Caucus members voted unanimously for the fiscally responsible state budget passed in the Texas House led by Speaker Straus.
Even before he was Speaker, as a second-term representative Joe Straus authored legislation that ended the TIF Tax – the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fee that had outlived its purpose, but was continued under previous Republican leadership as a means to balance the budget. This stands out as one of the largest fee elimination bills in Texas history. Who led the way? Representative Joe Straus. Not only that, Joe Straus passed the most significant energy conservation legislation of the 2007 session in order to control utility rates, and he stood with the victims of violence all across Texas in putting on the ballot a measure to provide stronger constitutional protections for the victims of domestic violence. Voters approved in overwhelming numbers.
My friends, that’s the record of a true conservative – someone who has fought to save you money and control the size of government, and someone who has fought to protect the vulnerable in our society.
Now, in the name of self-interest, a few individuals are trying to disparage that record. Recently a political opponent claimed, without any basis in fact, that somehow Speaker Straus “cut a deal” with Democrats on Voter ID to prevent it from coming up for a vote. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only has Speaker Straus been a strong supporter of Voter ID – voting for it in 2007 – he ensured it priority placement at the top of the House’s Major State Calendar to get it to a floor vote. Democrats then used a tactic known as “chubbing” to kill Voter ID, and in the process killed a lot of other legislation, which earned them a black eye with the public because of their obstructionist tactics.
And that brings us to another point. While our Republican Majority shrunk in the previous three elections, under Speaker Straus’ leadership, we made substantial gains in the November 2 election to an unprecedented 99 seats in the Texas House. Joe Straus gave unprecedented early sums of money to Republican incumbents, and Republican candidates in open seats, as well as to the Republican Party and Party organizations working to get out the vote, making the gains Tuesday possible.
We write to you as members of the conservative movement -- who believe that we must control the size and mission of government. We simply couldn’t let the assaults on our Republican speaker go on unchallenged. As someone who worked for Senator Tower, in the Reagan and Bush Administrations, and as Lamar Smith’s campaign manager during his initial victorious run, Joe Straus is a dedicated and proven conservative. We may not agree with him on every issue, but we know he shares our commitment to fiscally conservative principles, and he manages the House in an even-handed manner, which means the Democrats are forced to fight us on the issues – which spells trouble for them in a conservative state.
If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us back. We think it is important that you have all the facts. In the Internet age, a lie can travel half-way around the world before the truth ever gets out. You need to know the truth, and not merely what certain opponents of the Speaker want you to believe. In fact, you deserve nothing but the truth – the whole truth.
Sincerely yours,
Kyleen Wright
President, Texans for Life
Borah Van Dormolen
Republican National Committeewoman, Texas
Michael Truncale
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 4
Becky Berger,
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 18
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 18 District Director
James Barnes
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 19
Bob Jones
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 20
Eric Opiela
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 21
Former Executive Director, Republican Party of Texas
Rebecca Williamson
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 24
Texas Federation of Republican Women Vice President, Programs
Jan Koehne
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 25
Guadalupe County Republican Chairman
Johnny Lovejoy
State Republican Executive Committeeman SD 26
Marian Stanko
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 26
Norma Tovar
State Republican Executive Committeewoman SD 27
Judith Hooge
Atascosa County Republican Party Chair
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 21 District Director
Frank Morris
Cameron County Republican Party Chair
Former State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 27
Steve Murphy
Frio County Republican Party Chair
John Elliot
Kerr County Republican Party Chair
Anne Rose
Kimble County Republican Party Chair
Frank Steed
Navarro County Republican Party Chair
Kimberly Curtis
Nueces County Republican Party Chair
Coordinator, Northwest Tea Party
Merle R Hudgins
County Chair
Wharton County Republican Party
Carol Van De Walle
Vice Chairman, Bexar County Republican Party
Mike Bergsma
Vice Chairman, Nueces County Republican Party
Former State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 20
Cyndi Taylor Krier
Former Bexar County Judge
Robert Talton
General Counsel, Harris County Republican Party
Former Texas State Representative, District 144
Jo Konen
Texas Federation of Republican Women, Deputy President, Region II
Carolyn Hodges
Texas Federation of Republican Women, First Vice President
Barbara Larson
Texas Federation of Republican Women, Vice President, Legislation
Jan Ott
Texas Federation of Republican Women Vice President, Membership
Betty J. Hill, Lt Col, USAF (ret)
TFRW Bylaws Vice President
Bexar County Republican Women PAC Treasurer
Sylvia Manley
Texas Federation of Republican Women SD 7 District Director
President of Greater Houston Council of Republican Women
Carol Prince
Immediate Past President Village Republican Women
Bob Hurley
President, Brush Country Tea Party
Geoffrey R. Tahuahua
Chairman-St. Mary's University
Texas College Republicans
Southern Region Deputy RVC-Greater Bexar County Area
Joseph Fitzsimons
Former Chairman, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission